Brand Real

I love Branding. Brand to a company is like reputation is to a person. Like reputation - it can be invaluable and like reputation, it can be easily destroyed.

Reputation requires consistency. Brand does also.

I read Laurence Vincent's book - Brand Real - How Smart Companies Live Their Brand Promise and Inspire Fierce Customer Loyalty. I liked the cover "Ingredients of Success Hype 0%, Trendiness 0%, Gimmicks 0%, authenticity 100% and Experience 100%"

Vincent talks about brand identity (how the brand looks and feels - like logo, color, name, slogan etc) and brand behavior (what brands do and why it matters). Many people who think brand think about the former but it is the latter that really matters.

"Real brands make promises that they keep". And this is why we pay more for trusted brands. We like consistency and good brands (like many franchises) deliver that comfort. Consistency in many cases is worth more than being great.

I like to think I am a sophisticated consumer who is not influenced by marketing and brand. Not true. I will often buy from someplace I know will treat me fairly even without trying somewhere else.

I liked the chapter on "Brand Inside - Why People are the Key to your Branding Strategy". It is the people but it is also to training, coaching, mentoring, tools and processes that are in place to make the people great and consistent with the brand.

The gist of the book - work on what your brand really stands for.

Good book - worth reading.

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New technology - speech jamming. I will get worried when people start bringing them to meetings with me.

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The red eye light on the camera causes both Josh and I to look stunned.